The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Cases, Materials, and Commentary

Sarah Joseph and Melissa Castan

Comprehensively updated new edition on arguably the most important human rights convention in the world

Exhaustively systematizes and analyses the jurisprudence of the UN Human Rights Committee

Contains a detailed commentary on the Covenant, including extensive extracts from both the instrument and cases dealing with its implementation

Clearly structured and meticulously indexed for optimal usefulness to practitioners and students

New to this Edition:

Fully updated to include new material on recent developments in the UN Human Rights Committee's case law

Analysis of the significant new jurisprudential developments, including abortion, prisoners' voting rights, disappearances, and freedom of information

New section devoted to the relationship of the ICCPR to other areas of international law

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Cases, Materials, and Commentary

Third Edition

Sarah Joseph and Melissa Castan

Description

Now in its third edition, this book is the authoritative text on one of the world's most important human rights treaties, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Covenant is of universal relevance. Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966 and in force from 1976, it commits the signatories and parties to respect the civil and political freedoms and rights of individuals. Monitored by the UN Human Rights Committee, the Covenant ratified by the majority of UN member states.

The book meticulously extracts and analyzes the jurisprudence over nearly forty years of the UN Human Rights Committee, on each of the various ICCPR rights, including the right to life, the right to freedom from torture, the right of freedom of religion, the right
of freedom of expression, and the right to privacy, as well as admissibility criteria under the First Optional Protocol. Key miscellaneous issues, such as reservations, derogations, and denunciations, are also thoroughly assessed.

Comprehensively indexed and cross-referenced, this book offers elegant and straight-forward access to the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee and other UN human rights treaty bodies. Presented in a clear and illuminating manner, it will be of use to the judiciary, human rights practitioners, human rights activists, government institutions, academics, and students alike.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Cases, Materials, and Commentary

Third Edition

Sarah Joseph and Melissa Castan

Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction 1. IntroductionPart II: Admissibility Under the ICCPR 2. The Ratione Temporis Rule3. The 'Victim' Requirement4. Territorial and Jurisdictional Limits5. Consideration Under Another International Procedure6. Exhaustion of Domestic RemediesPart III: Civil and Political Rights 7. The Right of Self-determination - Article 18. The Right to Life - Article 69. Freedom from Torture and Rights to Humane Treatment - Articles 7 and 1010. Miscellaneous Rights - Articles 8, 11, 1611. Freedom from Arbitrary Detention - Article 912. Freedom of Movement - Article 1213. Procedural Rights Against Expulsion - Article 1314. Right to a Fair Trial - Article 1415.
Prohibition of Retroactive Criminal Laws - Article 1516. Right to Privacy - Article 1717. Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion - Article 1818. Freedom of Expression - Articles 19 and 2019. Freedoms of Assembly and Association - Articles 21 and 2220. Protection of the Family - Article 2321. Protection of Children - Article 2422. Rights of Political Participation - Article 2523. Rights of Non-Discrimination - Articles 2(1), 3, and 2624. Minority Rights - Article 27Part IV: Alteration of ICCPR Duties 25. Reservations, Denunciations, Succession, and DerogationsAppendices A. International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsB. First Optional Protocol to the ICCPRC. Second Optional Protocol to the
ICCPRD. States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsE. States Parties to the First Optional ProtocolF. States Parties to the Second Optional ProtocolG. States which have made a Declaration under Article 41 of the CovenantH. Members of the Human Rights Committee (Past and Present)I. General Comments of the Human Rights Committee

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Cases, Materials, and Commentary

Third Edition

Sarah Joseph and Melissa Castan

Author Information

Sarah Joseph is Professor of Human Rights Law and Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University in Melbourne. She has numerous publications on human rights, in areas such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, corporations and human rights, terrorism and human rights, self-determination, and now global trade and human rights. She is also an expert on Australian constitutional law, having co-written a leading text on that issue. She has taught human rights in many settings, both international and local, for over 15 years.

Melissa Castan is a Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director for the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. Her teaching and research interests are Constitutional Law, Indigenous Legal Issues and
Legal Education. She is co-author, with Professor Sarah Joseph, of Federal Constitutional Law: A Contemporary View (2006).

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Cases, Materials, and Commentary

Third Edition

Sarah Joseph and Melissa Castan

Reviews and Awards

Review(s) from previous edition
"a seminal work which will be of enormous interest to the human rights community..."
--Commonwealth Lawyer

"... a very useful first stop in finding the basic jurisprudence on the protection of civil and political rights under the treaties adopted under the auspices of the United Nations."
--Urfan Khaliq, Tolley's Communications Law

"The publication makes a most creditable contribution to systematising and making accessible the work of the Human Rights Committee in the exercise of its various functions ...With its timely collation of the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee, it stands alone in the human rights literature."
--Australian Year Book of International Law